Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Houston Intercontinental Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Houston, Texas 77396
Thursday, December 15, 2005 18:05 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
A cargo freighter was taxiing after landing to its loading area when it struck a parked airline passenger airplane that was waiting to enter its gate area. The cargo airplane was on the airport ground control frequency when the captain observed the airliner parked inside the double yellow lines, but he felt that the airplane was clear of its path. The passenger airplane was reported to be holding short of the gate due to traffic congestion in the gate area, with one engine running and monitoring its company ramp control frequency. The mishap occurred in the early evening, during the hours of darkness. After the collision, the airline passengers were deplaned via an airstair on to the ramp and then transported to the terminal. According to a current letter of agreement between the tower and the airport, this area of the ramp was established as a "non-movement area, " which is not under the control of the tower, including line markings. Neither airline had issued a notice to airmen (NOTAM) to its pilots regarding this area.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The captain's failure to maintain clearance from a parked airplane awaiting for a gate. A contributing factor was that taxi procedures were not issued by ground control to advise the captain that the ramp area where he was taxing was designated as a non-movement area and not under the tower's control. Another factor was that company notices to airmen (NOTAMS) were not issued to advise their pilots that tarmac markings in that particular ramp area were not accurate, and that the area was a non-movement area not under the control of the tower.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 12/15/2005 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1805 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Houston |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 77396 |
| Event Date Year | 2005 |
| Event Date Month | 12 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | Yes |
| Event Location Latitude | 295904N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0952029W |
| Event Location Airport | Houston Intercontinental |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | IAH |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 97 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1753 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | IAH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 97 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Dusk |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 12 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -2 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 290 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 3 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.13 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 176 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 19513 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Operations Center |
| NTSB Notification Date | Dec 15 2005 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 25 2006 11:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\JOHB |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Houston, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
||
|---|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
Aircraft #2 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N319UP | N32404 |
| NTSB Number | DFW06IA025A | DFW06IA025B |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes | Yes |
| Damage | Minor | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Boeing | Boeing |
| Aircraft Model | 767-300ER | B737-924 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 27758 | 30121 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 409000 | 187700 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 | -- |
| Number of Engines | 2 | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Dec 1 2005 12:00AM | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 23117 | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No | No |
| ELT Type | -- | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | United Parcel Service Co | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- | 1600 Smith Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- | Houston |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- | 7702 |
| Operator is an individual? | No | No |
| Operator Name | United Parcel Service Co. | Continental Airlines, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1400 N. Hurstbourne Pkwy | -- |
| Operator City | Louisville | -- |
| Operator State | KY | -- |
| Operator Country | USA | -- |
| Operator Zip code | 40223 | -- |
| Operator Code | IPXA | CALA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Cargo | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No | No |
| Departure Airport Code | SDF | SMF |
| Departure City | Louisville | Sacramento |
| Departure State | KY | CA |
| Departure Country | USA | USA |
| Departure Time | -- | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST | PST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | IAH | IAH |
| Destination City | Houston | Houston |
| Destination State | TX | TX |
| Destination Country | USA | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Taxi - from landing | Standing - engine(s) operating |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Feb 9 2006 6:32PM | Feb 9 2006 6:32PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | NA | NA |
| Runway Length | -- | -- |
| Runway Width | -- | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No | No |
| Medical Flight | -- | -- |